Nina Zakharenko posts her project: a desktop Python 2.7 countdown timer with CircuitPython on an Adafruit PyPortal IoT display.

Inspired by Phildini’s Python Clock, I wanted to make a desktop version of a Python 2.7 countdown timer for the big event.

My countdown timer matches my mood, with thirteen different themes to choose from.

Most importantly, the countdown timer had to be written in Python itself. I used CircuitPython and a wifi-enabled Adafruit PyPortal with a touchscreen. The touchscreen allows you to quickly cycle through themes.

The Build

The PyPortal is an wifi-enabled microcontroller device featuring a 3” capacitive touchscreen and CircuitPython baked in.

It can be programmed with CircuitPython, a variant of Python that can be used to program microcontrollers, originally forked from MicroPython.

Nina used the Python Extension for Visual Studio Code, along with workspaces for easy development. One workspace allowed her to keep her PyPortal code side-by-side with her local (version controlled!) codebase.

Read more on nnja.io and see the code on GitHub.

You can build your own Python countdown clock or other similar displays with open source code from Adafruit and the Adafruit PyPortal open source hardware display.

See the full info on Nina’s blog and on her GitHub site. Follow her on Twitter at @nnja.